SUMMARY:

The second volume of the Lloyd Hopkins' trilogy — Ellroy's contemporary (re: 1980s) treatment of an L.A.P.D. detective.

In this outing, Hopkins is investigating the disappearance of legendary L.A. cop Jacob Herzog and a "multiple murder committed with a pre-Civil War revolver." The two investigations begin to overlap and lead Hopkins into battle with a deranged psychologist known as "The Night Tripper."

PUBLISHER'S TEASER:

"The saga of Detective Sergeant Lloyd Hopkins, begun in Blood on the Moon, continues in a powerful new novel.

"Files regarding the disappearance of Jacob Herzog, a hero cop whose legend is almost as grand as Lloyd's own, and a multiple murder committed with a pre-Civil War revolver, are on Hopkins' desk. With his usual tenacity, he pieces the puzzle together; the picture which emerges is a frightening one. The two cases are related, and the motivating force behind them is cloaked in layers of darkness. Within that darkness lurks John Havilland.

"Known as The Night Tripper, Havilland is a psychiatrist whose pleasure comes from the manipulation of the weak and lonely. Power for Dr. John comes from knowing as much as he can about as many as he can, and then using that information for whatever end suits his purposes...even if that end is murder!

"As Hopkins closes in, the doctor uses is patients as a buffer until the detective breaks through the circle, causing Havilland's madness to rage uncontrolled.

"The conclusion of Because the Night brings a shattering confrontation and the exorcism of Lloyd's own demons."

—© Mysterious Press

POINTS:

The novel was first published in hardback (left) by Mysterious Press (ISBN: 0-89296-071-X) in 1984 and remains Ellroy's most collectible book published in the U.S. Ellroy dedicated the novel to Edith Eisler. Cover illustration by Gamache. Some rare book dealers are now charging upwards of $300 for first editions. Collectors should note it is difficult, if not impossible, to find mint copies of this book: the materials and inks used in creating the gray/green dust jacket were not durable, and copies of the book will reflect various degress of rubbing and fading. The first U.S. paperback edition is pictured on the right.

The novel was collected with the other two Hopkins' novels "Blood on the Moon" and "Suicide Hill" in hardcovers under the title, "L.A. Noir" in the U.S.

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